Bubble tower



Feb. 25, 1930; w. E. TETER 11,748,855

BUBBLE TOWER Filed Feb 18. 1928 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I gwue/ntoa WZZZZZZWZ'. TeZ'er;

W. E. TETER BUBBLE TOWER Feb. 25, 1930.

Filed Feb. 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwum vlioz VVZZZz'mmETeZe Patented Feb. 25; 1930 Z'wIIitIAt/rngrnrirayor WOOD RIVER, ILLINOIS" BUBBLE TOWER Application filed February 18, 1928. Serial No. 255,294.

' ilhis' invention 'relates to dephlegmating or bubble towers such as are used in the pr0-" I '10 partially condensed'as they ascend.

An important obj ecto'ft'the present inven- 7 tion is to provide abuhbletower havingithiat rpor-tionflof the same, above thepor'tl'on 'm' which theliquid oil-is'maintained 'at aigiven 15 level, laterally or horizontally enlarged,- thereby permittingeXpansionof the vapors, I

providing for' an increase inthe capacity of the fto'wer, and minimizing the likelihood of;

' carrying over those substances which impart ooreo1or and gravity to the product.-

v further object-is to generally simplify and improve the construction "and arrangement of the;louhloletrays, as well as themeans "TOr cOnduc ting the excess oil downwardly 25 from one "bubble trayito another. 1 1 7 still further object is to provide'means forefiectivelyr tardin the ascending Vapors and preventing excessive fbuhbling of the oil in-th'eb1'1hble trays. V

' Other 'objectswill appear asgthe nature of the inventionis better-understood, andfthe; I I

the pan. Vaporsfbeing treated inthejt [same consists in-the nove'l form, combination and arrangementof parts hereinafter more fully described, 'shown 'in the accompanying drawings and claimed. k

In the drawin'gszm I Y Figure '1 is a central vertical sectional view I of a b'ubb'letower constructed in accordance with thepresent'invention.

2 -2-01 Figure 1-. it v V Figure ,3 is' a horizontal section on line 3 3 of"Figure1; i p c Figure *4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4-of Figure'l. I

. tion on line 55 of Figure 4 ;and' o 'EigureG is an enlarged perspective View ofone of the devices for conducting the excess oil downwardly {from the bubble trays. I

portion 6. Heated oil 'isintroduced into 'the lower portion of the tower casing througha through the accumulatedgasolineito v v c are perforated plates 12 whichretardthe *Figure Q- is a horizontal section on line Figure 5 is anenlarged fragmentary sec-o o While those of each of the remaining tubes eX- Referring inorefin detail to the drawings, the present tower embodies an upright don-- gated .casinghaving a lower 'portion 5 and o a laterally or horizontally enlarged upper lower portion 5 of the tower casing near the bottom thereof through a pipe 7, and excess oil and residue 'isx'suitably drawn from the pipe 8, so that the heated ,oil'is maintained at of the tower casing; Leading fromthe topofi the tower casing is a pipe :9 by which' the treat'edvapors are conducted to a condenser;

;A series of bubble trays are placed jtransversely of the towercasing-soas to partition the latter, oneof the trays being relatively l A small and placedin the "top of thelower por- 7 tion 50f the' tow er casing, and the remaining] v trays heinglarger and placed in-spaced grelation one above another in the enlarged upper 7 portion 6 of the tower "casing, [as 'cleairly shown in Figure 1 I I Each bubble traygernbodies a pan '10 whose v bottom is provided with apertures'i'n are mountedtubular vapor risers 1 1, of in]- verted Jshape, which extend upwardly *zfor a'distance nearly corresponding tothe depth {at which it is desired'tof have thegasoline' ac cumulateyand then extending downwardly o to a point above but adja'cent lthebfottfo 16f b e therefore, pass I through the vapor risers and ay b v W er the me W -Sees epea The rims ofthe pans 10 are offgreater-height.

than the vapor jrisers 11 and ooveringjfand resting uponthe upper edges of these-rims cending vapors and prevent excessive fbuh- I.

bling ofthe oil or gasoline init'he pan Y c Each plate 12'has a central opening in which is secured the upper end of 'ajtube 13 which projects downwardly throughlthe associatedoradjacent pan 10 and has downint'jothe lower portionb of the tower casing;

on: I a'predetermined level in said lower'por tion' i tend into and terminate below the oil orgasoline level in the next lower bubble pan, extending through the plate 12 on the rim of said pan. By these means the oil or gasoline is maintained to the desired level in the hubble, pans, and excess oil or gasoline is conducted downwardly from one pan to another and into the lower portion of the tower casing. 7 A pipe 15 communicates with the tower casing above the lower bubble pan in the enlarged upper portion (3 and this pipe is used to draw oif reflux for further treatment or for being discarded, as the case may be.

A further pipe 16 enters the top of the tower casingfor conducting gasolineor oil into the latter so that the desired tcmperature or end point may be maintained in the upperportion of the tower above the bubble pans. This supply of oil or gasoline is also used to build up reflux in the apparatus, and mounted in the top of the tower casin is a oerforated horizontal oartition 17 i a: y ls l l which is spaced above the uppermost bubble pan and below the outlet of pipe 16 so as to spread the gasoline or oil laterally-as it passes from the pipe 16 into the tower..

'The general operation is old and well un-- derstood in the art, and as the functions of the novel features have been clearly pointed out above, further detailed description is believed unnecessary. However, it may be particularly noted that the ascending vapors are allowed to expand in the enlarged upper portion 6 of the tower, thereby enhancing the distilling operationand increasing the capacity of the tower. Moreover, the construction is extremely simple and durable, insuring etiicient operation and economy in manufacture. Still further, the spreading of the oil or gasoline introduced into the top of the tower enhances the condensing action atthis point, and the foraminous covers for the bubble pans prevent excessive bubbling and avoid entraining of undesirable substances in the ascending vapors.

Minor changes may be made without de parting fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

-What I claim as new is:

1. In a bubble tower for dephlegmating hydrocarbon oil vapors, a bubble tray comprise ing a pan having apertures in the bottom thereof, inverted J-shaped vapor risers mounted in said apertures and extending upwardly and thendownwardly to points adjacent but above the bottom of the pan, a foraminous cover plate on the pan overlying the vapor risers, and means for conducting excess oil from the upper surface ofthe cover plate downwardly through the pan.

2. In a bubble tower for dephlegmating hydrocarbon oil vapors, a bubble tray comprising a pan having apertures in the bottom thereof, inverted J-shaped vapor risers mounted in said apertures and extending upwardly and then downwardly to points adjacent but above the bottom of the pan, a foraminous cover plate on the pan overlying the vapor risers, means for conducting excess oil from the upper surface ofthe cover plate downwardly through the pan, said last named means embodying a tube mounted at its upper end in and extending from the cover plate through the pan and having downwardly diverging branches at its lower end adapted to enter a similar lower tray.

3. In a bubble tower for dephlegmating hydrocarbon oil vapor, a casing, a series of bubble trays arranged in vertically spaced relation within the casing. the bottom of each tray having apertures formed therein, a series of substantially J-sha'ped vapor risers mounted in an inverted manner in said apertures on each tray, a perforated cover plate disposed over the inverted J-shaped vapor risers and adapted to rest on the upperedge of the rim of each tra a'verticallydisposed tube fitted in a central opening formed in 7 each cover plate, saidtube extending downwardly through the bottom of the corresponding tray, branch pipes diverging from the lower end of each tube for disposition through the perforated coverplate of the subjacent tray, the lower ends of the branch pipes terminating in spaced relation with re-' spect to the bottom of the subjacent tray. I t a. In a bubble tower for dephlegmating hydrocarbon oil vapors, a casing, a series of bubble trays arranged in vertically spaced relation within the casing, the bottom of each tray having apertures formed therein, a series of substantially J-shaped vapor risers mounted in an inverted manner in said ap-. ertures on each tray, a perforated cover plate disposed over the inverted J-shaped vapor risers and adapted to rest on the upper edge of the rim of each tray, a vertically disposed tube fitted in'a central openingformed in each cover plate, said tubeextending downwardly through the bottom ofthe corresponding tray, branch pipes divergingfrom the f j lower end of each tube for disposition through the perforated cover plate of the Slll3]21CGI1l3 tray, the lower ends of thebranch pipes terminating in spaced relation with respect to the bottom of the subjacent tray, a

' heated oil inlet pipe extending into the side of the casing at the lower end thereof, an excessoil drain plpe extendmg from the bot-V tom portion of the casing, an oil inlet pipe extending into the top of the casing, and a WILLIAM TETER. 

